The Sun. — London, England, 1818-01-28 00:00:00

or thy osc bet . oisr tbe' Ind 1114' 13 1 0), ,e 5 he be he !at 15t t 3 e , vti 4' ' 11l I;e Ott lie goi cit e :lx llg fenc e . Y. it W olfi6° es not th a t the p rosecu ti ons were el ' ' ti ' ti u'llgit he disapproved of ex officio intorma -48 WO ; yet, as he Hon. an d L earne d Ge n tl e m an ,), the accordin g t o the custom - of his °L uce, he should be sorry to condemn his contliict °" that account ; but he could not but blame the ,ftPPettl from the decision of a Jury, against Which be had set hisindivitlital opinion.—He believed wa s right ; lie believed the opinion of the Judge Was " H decide.d on th e fi rst trial. '!'he 'Hon. amid Gentleman should remember, that the ace whi c h he held rendered him, of all men, most unfit to decide upon cases of libel. The oficenee was essentially the same, and Hone had t il trfact three t r i a l s f or o n e crime ; anti can tatty man I: eert ) ' l3( for a moment, th at if t h e defendant lend not ec luvieted on the thirdinformatien, he would hav e had nearly as heavy a punishment as it a e l ' a ! 1 been found guilty of all the three; though 1113 Prity of Juries would have been in his fa ell-Ceutplaroilleierepented that he wholly disapproved of but ill as be thought of them, he :M i d nut for a moment compare their effects Acti the deep injury which must result . trem R e . the con fidence in the natioital ittris- Artil euce ?' °°' A TToeees - -Gseettee was somewhat at a th s „ 3 t o itootv whether the Noble Lord objected to ti ProsectitiOn in Coto, or only to the continua -11:111'ey I it ef ter the first He conscientiously ed that if one was worthy of prosecution all til e e e. He deprecated all personal feeling of hos a a gainst the defendant in Ciese prosecutions, p l i l t rl i,. "'re than migh t . naettiraily fill th e conceived na intl to ofa 1 1 , 0 orecer aga i nst one w h om h e ,e,,ree"ibmitted an act of delinquency. The papers la t h e si "gly subject to prosecution, if Mr. Hone 41 Publish e d but one 4.ltt, iu his judgment, lie II ee tetnitted three otfetides. If he could not it: 11111 e cir cu l a ti on o f a ll, teets it not his. duty to 1,, - , v ;llt as many of them as'lle could ? It one only r 1 N'en c h osen, would not the pu b l i c h ave had_ j e , 1414 to conelud e th at t h e ot h ers h a d b een re 7 1 , 4 "" becaus e ' they w ere - no t pu ni s h a bl e . H e cc ,' Trained, that Hitless some marked distinction i t lrbe shewn between one paper and another, ‘tere jestified in prosecuting; one, he must of essity prosecute the others. The Noble Lord .lected to prosecution altogether, or to its conti m:%tlice after the first /la. al [Lord A terstoepa said a few words over the ta it, but in so lot;, a tone of voice that we could k 't hear them.] The ATTORNgy.GENKRAL proceelied• lie was 3 t aSitlred by the eveut that Mr. Hone was et all • He felt very reluctant to refer to the 1 4 e ,'`," "' ets of Juries at all: Juries were the .judg es l l : l " of the law and the fact, and God forbid that " n anv of their rights ; but still tri er • 11 g t i ut Y men, especially i n cases lik e t hi s , h as t h e \j'; (if private jedgment, and unless he was con lle was wrong, he had a right to proceed'— te :i e ," be had felt that becaese he had been ac etted on one be roust be of all. In his opinion, derlTrary tin e o f con d uct wou ld h a v e b ee n a gross t( l t i .tiOi l of his thst y—would have amounted to Inst that time original prosecution was un ‘' l lei' fe e t, it would h ave h4.ttrayeti a fear of te r t , ti 'iiig datie - ! •14 office—a fear which ket cr bad , and trusted he never should feel on s. . si r Ittla S Amtree ROYALLY agreed to the Address, 44 co mid, d with' every sentiment which uttered respecting the heavy cajathity Ir e 4 tqi it had pleased Providence to afflict us, ill,: as he had altveys MulerstoOd it to be accord t" the usage ot l'ailiament to bring any tnat ttail',`'eethriitg d ur i ng t h e recess , i nto di scuss i on eq e teisiaeritig the Speech from the Throne, 11 4 ) , 1ch is sepp ose d to re l ate to transections kvhich It t , ' , e , ° ""i'red since t he prorogat ion of Parliament, 1 4 ; ; '"I'lOit Noble Friend W•as perfectly rCgit -1: 11, briuging w forard tee case of Mr. Hume.— I:, k ,en k,el-,,,,ve1y it ini 4 .!;t not deserve great at ei":" but cousilered as a part of a system it tuts." throw (ight on the whole, and account 1 4 Ole great public celamityeteder which theFla cal:tinily. he said, for he could consider of a leiting of Pailiament ender the deprivation 1 ,„,„ th e Cen st i tut i on in no other light. The !loose ‘o,li'c'hu remember that in I he passing of th e A c t to th e lie allud e d, it h a d ef necess i ty proceeded i„ 1 ` 14 ' . k.• The Select Committee could not dis- Krse lts,evidsnce, partly that they Might not in- Private itelividnale, partly lest they should kl'idice the proceedieeS of Counts of Justice. te t t th e events of clue recess, the transactions in pt " c4s Lite, ,hi Semiarid, and at.' Derby, have teed that the whole grounds on whi c h they pro tlti',:led in !lie last Session were false. The Hou se R~ recollect, that in the terrible description which )1: given of t h e consp i racy at M anc h ester, 4' 4 bad b eet i l aid for destroying the bar it:tl"' and firing the manufactories, and this 1 , 4 ; crim e was to be perpetrated for the pur toe of th row i ng many, persons out of employ, ' thus increasing the numbers of the disaffected. Af t Nzheste r was, in short, to 'have been another t ri `, s cow. Well, these cotispi rat ors wet e be V l4th entledandwould have hero brought to trial , (i ll f "ledi;, tely, b ut 'the Attorney-General, by a wr i t . I r ' r tiorori; rem ove d' t h e i r cases i nto t h e C ourt di,Bench, in ord e r t o prevent a premature e. t ,ostire of facts. At length, however, they bro u gh t t o tr i a l, an d t h en hi s Hon, tied t e ,, r4 d Friend s a id, t h at t h e tratuptillity of the le, Al tty bei ng restore d , h e s h ou l d, thinking them s vi ','"r objects of eleniency, forbear to call cr,tellee against them, and they were dii ttf i t ged- But if - there were the least particle ette in wh a t hal been stated by th e Corn- es. w ere t h ese Wren 1)1'4 - 6. objects of cic tr,qlcY ? And yet,• notwithstentling the return of sl it :quillity, and the dispositiOn of Ministers to rairrclem ency , the state prisoners were still re tht in custody, though from the quiet state of f ett , e ''itntry the ordin ar y means o f j ust i ce were not, 14 1 1 necess ar y ; it as still thought tight to ke e p ti() ! w L ate pri,oners in custody under the Stispen ► Ast, He should not go into the transac 's tile rn s ti le 's Scotian! ; h e s h ou ld sa y not hi ng of thrice ainendinent of the indictment against 1114 n wh o was after all ' acquitted. Con ‘,. _nitg pu trO di eS, it will be recollected wh'ir shocked' the late Attorney-General was 1 t" tt Memb er , i nconsiderate l y perhaps), asked . i 4a d nue of them... 7 He said it l a y sea l e d ti , Y table, aed any G en tl e man who h a d curio ' su curio to du, mi g h t .b rea k the seal and read it for himself. He distinctly allowed, that Le thought the parodies highly reprehensible, though not - blasphemous, even though the .parodist, not wishing - to briar retigioril into' 'coutempt; lashed the corruption of Statesmen, by contrast ing it with the duties marked in the sacred ritual. was at a loss how to account for these prosecutions; except on a ground which he would in charity hope was 'erroneous, only , that it -formed a piece with the acts .of Mi nisters who had suspended the Habeas Cor- Pus in time of peace ; who had refused what never hid before been refused to that House — namely, to give the names of the persons in con finement ; of Ministers who had issued directions to Magistrates how to act ; had delivered out the Opinions • oldie Attorney and Solicitor-Generai as authoritative commeortaries on the law of the land,--Ministers who had called upon men to give secnrity'Who had never broken the peace, hoping to draw theni into something like a confession of guilt—Ministers who could set up the prerogative against a general act for the regulation of prisons. His theory was that Ministers had contemplated another Jurisdiction for libel, that it was hoped that the verdicts would - have . brought Juries into contempt ; but the title set the other way ; they, had not been able to raise' a cry like that which took place at their entrance into nice. The , SocittToa-GENettat. (lid certainly not ex pect to hear any reflections on-the trials at Derby; while, though having assisted, he felt ling to enter into any discussion concerning them, he must nevertheless say, they ;Lave perfect satis faction to all present. His Honourable and Learn ed Friend Must. give him leave to say, that be - .had not stated the matter fairly ; there was no neces sity to go into evidence before the affairs of the Bth of June. Was - a trial to be impugned, because all the evidence that might have been given was not, when sufficient evidence had been put in ? As tir the meg who hail been di•eharged, they were those tec , otically called Illanketeers. There seas a True- Bill found against them by the Grand Jury, for a misdemeanour, and for that only they would have been tried. His Hon anti Learned Friend admits the impropriety of the .parody, but pleads that their prosecution was the best means of diffusing them. XVinit! 'was that an argument against their prosecution ? Must .the atrocity.of the libel prevent its punishment'? Bitt though Unite had given up the publiCatitin, and others had gime forward, was the originator of the' oirence t(k be screened ? Much stress had been laid on there being three informations; but three were neces sary. A Judge would refuse to try a case in which so much distinct matter was . 'contained, as heing unfair to the defendant,- and- tending to em barrass him in his defence. . The LORD ADVOCATE Of SCOTLAND TOSE to re ply to the insinuations which had been thrown out against hint by the Hon. and Learners Gen tleman (Sir S-Romilly.) He assured the House that he should be able to spew that the statement he bad made last, Session, relative to the taking of oaths by disaffected persons in Scotland, • was fully established by the facts ; and as to the charge of corrupt practices on the part of the Servants of Government,he should - also prove that there washo foundation whatever fir such .an allegation. No thing had been done inconsis rut with the law of the.Coitutryl,And if his Majesty!s Law Officers in Scotland had not done what they did, they would have been guilty of a dereliction - of their duty. Lord ARCHIBALD • HAMILTON reminded the Learned Lord of what had fallen from hint last Session. At that time, he said, some hundreds of persons were involved in criminal proceedings in Scotland. He would ask him then, how it hap pened that of,th'ese hundreds of persons only one individual was brought to trial ? • It was not his object then to enter into any examination Of that Learned Lord's conduct ; hut it ought to be un derstood that he was very seriously implicated in the ones•ion respecting the motives of the ca nations laid against so many persons. He would not say that ,the Learned Lord was the sole per .son with whom the sygtem of persecution origi nated ; btit that he had a very considerable share in it there could be no doubt whatever. 01 the Servant 4 of Government generally lie would say, that if theirs was not a system of unjust accosion, the whole of their conduct evinced a system of folly and absurdity. Lord FOLKESTONE Said, lie felt the same reluct ance- in entering into any discussion at this time ; and that was increased by the reluctance which the House seemed to feel' on the subject. But feeling as he did for the state of the country, and knowing that it was occasioned by the conduct of Ministers, he was astonished to finn them silent on this occasion. He should say very little at pre sent respecting the late'trials, and nothing at all relative to the trials in Scotland. As to the trials that had lately taken place here, it was impossible to hear the remarks made by his Learned Friend (Sir S. Romillv)_, together with the reply of the Solicitor-General, and not he convinced of the justice and truth of what fell from his Learned Friend. With regard to the trials at Derby, he really believed that the acts for which the unfortunate persons had been tried were as much the production of Oliver, the Government agent, as of any other party. He was convinced that. Oliver, the agent of Lord Sidmouth, was principally instrumental in provoking the acts for which the unhappy persons were convicted; and if that was the general feeling, why, he asked, should Government have consigned the unhappy persons to death ? As to the proseclition of Mr. Hone, it was impOssible for any one to read the report of his trials without being• convinced that in carrying them on the Government was actuated by a spirit of persecution, or of im becility. He would next allude to a transac tion in whiCh he himself had been personally concerned ; he meant the order given by Govern ment to keep persons in a state of solitary con finement, and the conduct of Magistrates at Quarter Sessions on that subject. He could not agree withisome things which fell from his Noble Friend . on the subject of the Address. He could not agree to an expression of approbation con tained in the Address respecting the conduct of the Government. He bad another ground of complaint against the Address, namely, that the Speech, of which it was an echo, was worded in a naauney to incur the consent of the House; and it was on that account that the mover of it said,' that tio Member of the [loose could object to it He did no: like this kind of artifice. It had also been 'usual to print copies of the_Speech on the day -before the meeting of Parliament, and sell theneto the Public; by which means Mem bers could obtain them in sufficient time. But . this also was laid aside, and most of the Members were ignorant of the Address they were called on to .vote until it. was first read to them. The only apology then which could he made • for the present Address was, that it contained nothing at all. With' regard to a late melauclioly event, which bad. been a subject of universal Jamenta tion throughout all parts of the country, he' wished the Honourable Gentlemen who moved and seconded the Address had avoided saying any thing upon it, and that they had made it the subject of a separate Address. All these were subjects of great importance. Another subject to which considerable importance must be attached was the .alien . act ; it would be important to know whether .that act was likely to be conti nued. All parties 'must feel so as to' express their condolence, for the - melancholy loss of the Princess Ch,olotte, and be, Is well 'as others on that side of the House,. must feel more anxi ous on that topic, in consequence - of then-having been once accused by a Honourable Gen tleman, whom, he then saw in his place (Mr. Yotke), as enemies to the House of,Biunswick 4 - He himself felt most anxious to' express hii sorrow at an event which he considered as most 'disastrous to the House of Brunswick, bee ,use by that means lie should prove how grossly he bad been misrepresented When he was called an enemy to that - House. if any man entertained a doubt as to the falsehood of the imputation, that a portion of the, people were conspiring the overthrow of that House, he had . ouly to recollect the universal feeling which per vaded all ranks of people throughout the cottony,. on the occasion of the late disastroas event, when on 'the morning obits being announ ced, the feel ing of sorrow in the breast of every individual .was as actre and 'as severe as if a person had 'beet) found dead on that morning in every house. It was ascertained that when any Member of ;the House of Brunswick possessed the virtues that could corrimand affection, the affections and loyalty -of the people were unbounded. This was proved by all the Addresses of Condolence which had lately been presented from all parts of the coim try.' Every one of these 'particularly lamented the loss of the public and private virtues possessed by the departed Princess, and. which distinguished her in every relation.of private life. Lord CASTLEREAGH observed, that if 'the pre sent were the only opportunity the House should have of introducing the topic jast adverted to by the Noble Lord, he should take occasion to say something on it ; but as there would be other occasions for that purpose, he should con ceive it premature to enter on it at present. — There was another subject which tie wished the Noble Lord had abstained from introducing until be was better informed of it ; .meant that of the Trials at Debby. The Noble Lord wanted to hold forth • an' idea that' the crimes for • which the culprits at Derby had suffered originated with a Government spy. ; — This assertion be wholly denied There was not a scintilla of evidence on the trial of these persons to shew that such had been the fact. —(Hear, bear!)—And if the parties who coadocts ed their defence had conceived that Oliver.was the person who instigated them 10 •commit. the offences for which they were tried, they had it in their power to-call that personas a witness. The only evidence that could lead to such a belief was the declaration made by one of the parties Shindy before his execution. It was obvious • that many occasions would arise in the course of the Session for meeting - the imputations which Gentlemen might he disposed to throw out agaiust 'his Majesty's - 'Ministers. It had already been hi. - - sinnated that a conspiracy had, been formed by Government.against the liberties of the people. He trusted That lie should he able to shew that this insinuation was altogether unfounded. Surely there . could • be no proof or any disposition on their parts to propose' any measure for abridg 7 ing the liberties of the people, when they hail already sigoifiell their intention to •repeal that Act which had abridged a certain portion of their liberties. Government felt it a duty incum bent on them not to withhold front Parliament a I knowledge of the internal state of the country, such as it bad been since the passing of that Act, such as it had been at the time when the Com mittee made their report, and such as it was at the present moment. And he now gave notice that, on an early day, he should make a communica tion to Parliatneut relative to the transactions that were passing in the country since the Committee lead matte its first report. When that communication should be made, and when an en quiry should be entered into on the subject, he trusted the House would -he satisfied that Govern ment had dhne no more than what the most pru dent prtcaution and a due sense of the public in terest dictated.—(Hear, hear !)—lt would then be seen that the restoration of public tranquillity, during which Parliament would restore the sus pended liberties of the people, was owing to the energy of the - Government, and the measures they had taken for ensuring the public safety. If he now declined to-enter upon other topics, it was because occasions would occur when they might be more properly introduced. Then he should not shrink from discussion, and he should satisfy the Parliament that Government had, in every act of their's, conducted themselves towards the people with mercy as . well as with justice ; and he should have cause to congratu late the country on its being restored, to a state of safety. He should not say that no danger existed at this moment; but he would say the danger was so diminished, 'that the restraints which it had been found necessary to adopt last year might: now be dispensed with. Nothing could be more consoling or gratifying to him than this improved state of the country and lie hoped that, 'on the present occasion, whatever differ ences had existed in that House would be termi nated. lie hoped the calamitous event that had lately taken place would produce unanimity at the present moment ; while, at the -same time, no Gentleman would forego any opinion he might have to give hereafter. Mr. BENNETT said, he fully concurred in what fell from his Noble Friend , (Lord Folltesto:.e) re specting thae charges of treason that had betl brought against so many persons, and•the manner in which they originated ; and .he assured the House, that tit a tutnre - opporttinisy he should, prove they were the work of Govet [mem etnis sar:es. • Mr. BROUGHAM thought it would have been sotlicient on the present occasion to avoid any dkcussion that might disturb the unanimity so generally wished for. ,The Noble Lord (Csstle reagli) had promised to submit the state of the country to the House, and make it a subject for enqiiiry at an early period. Until that enquiry was ' gone into, it would be Premature IO nave. any discussion on the sobjects . connected with it. His opinion respecting the state of the country last year, ,and the dangers then supposed to have existed, wasTthesame now.as formerly. But as Ministeis proposed.to have an enquiry, he wished that the Honse might wait until. they saw the rt• suit of the saute, ,and then judge whether the ConStitution of the country .hail been suspended without any necessity. The Address pledged the House to nothing; hut it was a great satistaction to know that an enquiry . ivas to be instituted, and lie hoped it would be conducted in,a free and open manner. Lord CAsTLEREAousaid=be bad not intimated an intend►n of instituting au enquiry in any other Mode than the usual course of proceeding. Mr. BROUGHAM replied, that an engniry could answer no purpose if ; it was to he carried on by a Secret Corninittel.,.With a parcel of papers deli vered to_theM.sealed up in a greembag. Lord COCHRANE considered the Address now moved as a mockery and an insult to the cottuttyi; impossible that the existing state of the country could go on ; s it was impossible the coon= try could go on with a st i arving population, anti with scenes of mise►y wherever one went. Such scenes were not to be found in tree countries; they were not to be found in South America or in North America. They were scenes only fit for such countries as Spain and. Portugal. . e Address was then agreed to unnnimo►tsly and a deputation of Members was ordered to s‘ait, on the Prince Regent to know when he would be pleased to receive the same. Lord CASTLEREAGH eaVe notice that to•rnorro4 he %%timid move Addr,sses i f Comlolerrce, on the late lamented death of the Princess Charlotte,•ta the Queen and to Prince Leopold. • At eight o'clock the House fidjoornel. • LAW IN f ELLIGENCE. COURT OF CHANCERY. ATTORNEY-GENERAL v. THE CoRPoRATION OF WIN' CH E,TER. Mr/WINGFIELD on Monday moved to confirm the D'.2.-rees absolute itithese canseS, which were' instituted on behalf of certain Charitable Institu tions in the City of Winchester. The Detreea were pronounced in May last, on the default of. tke defendant's appearanre on the heating, a nl tro cause had been sliewn a . ;:ainst then). By these Decrees the Hospital of St. Joh►► the Bantict, iu Winchester,'•).nd certain poor persons of the City, will have restOred•to them annual property of vet'y: considerable amount. COURT OF KING'S BENCH, JAN. 27. SPA-VI ELDS RIOTS.-BECK WITH V. WOOD. This, it ivi ,ll be' recollected, w k s an action against the Hundred, under the Riot Act, to re cover the amount of damages done to the plaintiff's house, and the value of the arms carried away by the mob who 'attacked his house on the 2 , 1 of De cember, NIG. At the trial helot e Lord Ellen borough in the London Sittings after last Term, objections were taken by the Common-,Serjeant, Ist, That there was no demolition of the plain tiff's house, within the meaning of the Eliot Act and 2d, 'l'i►at the plaintiff could not recover the amount of the property stolen, although be might' the damage done to the arms; but both objections wet e over-ruled and a vei'dict was taken for the full amount of the danyages in the declaration. • Mr. Commoil;seßJE.ANT now moved for a Rule to chew cause, either" why there should not be a' new trial granted, or the .damages reduced by the amount of the arms stolen, in this case az well as in two others of Brander v. Wood . , and Rae v. Wood, tried at the same ti►ue. The Court over-ruled the objection taken upon the Riot Act, but they granted rules to slaesv 'cause as to the reduction of damages in each of the cases. I i CRIMINAL INFORMATION. Mr. SCARLETT moved for a rule to sheiv cause why criminal informations should not be filed against Mr. Thomas Ellis, a lodger in the town of Abergevenny, and Mr.. John Price, an Attorney, residing in the same place, for challenging Lieut.- Gen. Kinzey to fight a duel. .The applicant was an elderly man, and having recently returned from India, was sporting upon the grounds of Mr. Ellis, in the' neighbourhood of Abergavenny, by the invitation of the tenants of the latter, • which giving offence, to Mr. Ellis, he used violent lan guage towards the General, and 'snbsequently sent him 'a challenge'hyMr. Price, which the Ge nerd• declining, he was posted about the neigh bourhood as a coward.—Under the circumstances stated by the Learned Counsel, the Court granted a rule to spews cause. • OLD BAILEY:—The Sessions closecl yesterday, when sentence of death was. passed on Charlei Wood, John Vale, JaMes Bennet, Joseph Thomp son, Ann Jones, Moses Daniel, John Smith, Lawrence Denhy, John Norton, Daniel Stockwell, George Scott : Israel Chap man, William White, it iiliam Green, - John Reed, Mary Gil derslem, William Kelly, Thomas Spicer, Thomas Casey, Wm. H. Rawlinson, John Ravelinson the vounget, Henry Hall, Ann Cale, William Grace, Charles . Scins, Charles Russel, Matthew Sullivain, a little child, .John_ Lewis,' Rose O'Hara, Margaret finniphries, Hannah Brian, and John Palmer.— Theodore O'Callaghan, Thomas Joseph Phela IT, and Charles Newbolt, 01i' duellists, were 'sentenced to three months' im prisonn►ent in Ne)vgate; It were transported for life, 115 for 'fourteen years, and GO' for "seven. ' Michael, Fox, whose case was mentioned yesterday, was sentenced to one year's imprisonment.